Thousands will gather for slain deputy's memorial

Public service begins at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Orlando.

February 13, 2014|By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel

Thousands are expected to attend a public memorial service Saturday at First Baptist Orlando for slain Orange County Deputy sheriff Jonathan Scott Pine, who was gunned down this week by a suspected car burglar who also killed himself.

The sheriff's office is expecting law enforcers and mourners from across the state and region to converge on the church campus for the viewing, ceremony and internment of the 34-year-old deputy who became the first officer to be killed in the line of duty in Florida this year.

Several roads will be closed and messages on electronic billboards will alert motorists as the funeral participants arrive for the service and the processional gets underway late Saturday.

The Southern Baptist megachurch's size and location has made it the venue of choice for some of Orlando's highest-profile funerals — prominent people, dignitaries, local elected officials and slain law-enforcement officers, in particular — in the last several years.

Because the church regularly broadcasts its services, it is well-equipped to grant millions online access to a major event like the memorial service of a public figure.

It hosted the memorial service for the last deputy sheriff slain while patrolling Orange County's streets.

In 2010, Brandon Coates was honored inside the church's 5,000-seat sanctuary after he was shot to death by a felon he stopped during a tactical patrol in one of the area's most dangerous neighborhoods. A year earlier, people of all faiths gathered there to mourn the death of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony.

"We want to reach out to our community and be there in a time of need," said Liz Butler, First Orlando's communications director. "It's just one small way we can serve."

In this case, the departed is one of their own. Pine was a member of the church he attended with his wife and three small children. They participated in the First Orlando's life groups, a program which brings smaller groups of people together within the 17,000-member church for fellowship and to develop closer relationships.

Faith, friends said, was central to Pine's life and his approach to his work as a patrol deputy. The family released a statement late Wednesday thanking the community for their support.

"We truly wish each and every one of you could have known Scott. He was kind, strong, athletic, caring and involved," the family wrote. "He was an amazing man! He loved God, his family and his friends and had his priorities in order. He meant the world to his family and will be immensely missed."

Pine was pursuing 28-year-old Benjamin Holtermann in a southwest Orange County subdivision when the felon turned and shot at him three times. Two bullets hit his protective vest while the third struck Pine's armpit and ruptured major arteries. He died at the hospital Tuesday.

"We mourn with the family and are walking alongside them during this tragic time," Butler said.

A public viewing will commence at 12:15 p.m. inside the church's worship center and the service begins at 2 p.m., according to the sheriff's office. Drivers are being asked to avoid the area.

Roads along the processional route to Woodlawn Cemetery in Gotha will be closed between 3 and 5 p.m., officials said.

Pine's friends and family set up a website with links to a donation website. They are also asking that in lieu of flowers, donations can also be made to Pine's memorial fund at Orlando Federal Credit Union or the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation.